'''The Fall of Arthur''' the title of an unpublished poem by [[J.R.R. Tolkien]], concerned with the legend of [[King Arthur]].

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'''The Fall of Arthur''' the title of an [[Index:Unpublished material|unpublished]] poem by [[J.R.R. Tolkien]], concerned with the legend of [[King Arthur]].

According to [[Humphrey Carpenter]], who published a few brief extracts from the poem in his [[J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography|biography about Tolkien]], the poem "''has alliteration but no rhyme [and] did not touch on the Grail but began an individual rendering of the [[Wikipedia:Le Morte d'Arthur|Morte d'Arthur]], in which the king and Gawain go to war in 'Saxon lands' but are summoned home by news of Mordred's treachery''". "The Fall of Arthur" was read by [[E.V. Gordon]] and R.W. Chambers, who both approved of the poem.<ref name=Bio>[[Humphrey Carpenter]], ''[[J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography]]'', pp. 168-8 (1977 ed.; Carpenter also published some quotes from the poem)</ref><ref>[[Verlyn Flieger]], "Arthurian Romance", in ''[[J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia: Scholarship and Critical Assessment]]'', pp. 34-5</ref>

According to [[Humphrey Carpenter]], who published a few brief extracts from the poem in his [[J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography|biography about Tolkien]], the poem "''has alliteration but no rhyme [and] did not touch on the Grail but began an individual rendering of the [[Wikipedia:Le Morte d'Arthur|Morte d'Arthur]], in which the king and Gawain go to war in 'Saxon lands' but are summoned home by news of Mordred's treachery''". "The Fall of Arthur" was read by [[E.V. Gordon]] and R.W. Chambers, who both approved of the poem.<ref name=Bio>[[Humphrey Carpenter]], ''[[J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography]]'', pp. 168-8 (1977 ed.; Carpenter also published some quotes from the poem)</ref><ref>[[Verlyn Flieger]], "Arthurian Romance", in ''[[J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia: Scholarship and Critical Assessment]]'', pp. 34-5</ref>

Revision as of 20:01, 22 August 2012

According to Humphrey Carpenter, who published a few brief extracts from the poem in his biography about Tolkien, the poem "has alliteration but no rhyme [and] did not touch on the Grail but began an individual rendering of the Morte d'Arthur, in which the king and Gawain go to war in 'Saxon lands' but are summoned home by news of Mordred's treachery". "The Fall of Arthur" was read by E.V. Gordon and R.W. Chambers, who both approved of the poem.[1][2]

The writing of the poem was abandoned in the mid 1930s,[1] but in a 1955 letter to Houghton Mifflin, his American publishers, Tolkien mentioned that he hoped to finish the "long poem".[3] Although the state of the manuscript(s) is unknown, there is a rumour that the poem has 954 lines.[4]

Carl F. Hostetter appears to have been working on transcribing a manuscript by Tolkien which seems to be a fragment of his The Fall of Arthur.[5] An edition of the poem appears to be scheduled for publication in May 2013 by HarperCollins.[6]